The start of the 1984 Tall Ships Race was perhaps the most awesome and glorious sight Bermudians had ever seen -- the stately tall ships, their bows streaming with white sea foam, their sails billowing full in the stiff breeze, their flags and pennants fluttering straight out, the spirited young trainees in the rigging waving. Hundreds of spectators, in small boats darting among the great ships, waved good bye as 39 ships started the race for Halifax in splendid style on a bright blue day. It was a moment of grand perfection and uncontained happiness for all.

Towards evening, unconfirmed reports that one of the tall ships was in trouble swept through the returning spectator fleet and the joy of the day faded, replaced by unease. Despite forecasts of moderate wind, reports of tall ships encountering heavy weather started to trickle in and persisted.

The Corsaro Corsaro, a 75-foot yawl owned by the Italian Navy, had radioed that she was in trouble, a message picked up by the Dutch vessel Urania . There were no more messages as the Corsaro crew was focused on tending to the damage -- her fore plate had snapped and loose forestays were whipping about in the 40 knot wind, making repairs a hazardous business. The mast had to be secured. There was also damage to their satellite receiver.

The Urania , unable to raise her and misinterpreting the long silence, radioed that she thought the Corsaro had gone down. Tall ships of diverse nations diverted from the race in the time honoured tradition of the sea.

HMCS Assiniborne and the United States Coast Guard Cutter Eagle headed for the Corsaro's last known position.

The Marques Early the next morning, June 3, rumours spread like wildfire through Bermuda that a tall ship was in trouble, perhaps sinking.

The stark facts unfolded over the day and it was terrible news indeed. A ship had indeed sunk but it was not the Cosaro . Shortly after 4 a.m. on Sunday night a "freak wind'' had hit the famous 67 year-old square rigged barque Marques . She had sunk in under two minutes with the loss of 19 lives.

Most heart-wrending of all was the news that skipper Stuart Finley, his Antiguan wife Aloma and their 18-month-old son Christopher were among those who perished.

Eight survivors and the body of crew member James McAleer , were picked up by the Polish ship Zawisa Czarny and the Asiniborne picked up one other survivor.

Survivors' recollections Bobby Cooper, an 18-year-old from Scotland, was on watch at the moment of impact by a violent squall that no-one had seen coming. It rolled the 86-ton Marques over on her side like a dinghy caught in a gust.

Her lee rail was suddenly well under the water, and a sail was dragging in the water. "All hands on deck'' was shouted out, and some of the crew tried frantically to free the sails.

"The sail was caught under the water which restricted her from righting herself,'' Mr Cooper later told the Mid-Ocean News. "She was still moving.

The bow took a dive into a big wave. It kept moving like a chisel edge. She kept moving down and down and down. The hatch was open because there were people coming off watch.

"I realised she was going over and made to cut the foresail sheet and Bill Berhardt came to try to help me,'' he said. "We were swept on the lee side of the deck and swept away very quickly. The next thing I remember is being under water and tangled up in a lot of lines. It became very eerie. I saw lights under the water.

"I didn't know which way was up or down or sideways in the water came up on the surface and arrived next to a tender of the boat. I grabbed hold of that.

There were a few more fingers holding on to it. There was a loud pop and a hissing noise -- one of the life rafts inflating.'' Passenger Stuart Gillespie was below deck, discussing the weather, when the ship was struck and rolled over on its side. He said that as she rolled, people fell into cabins, and confusion reigned. As Gillespie helped fellow passenger Susan Howell along the passageway, he saw Finley helping his wife out of their cabin and heard them trying to find their son.

Mr. Gillespie was sucked under the water a number of times as the ship sank but eventually made his way to an upturned life-raft and hung on. After being stung by a Portuguese man-o-war, he climbed up on top.

The ship's 18-year-old engineer, Andy Freeman, was on the poop deck, where he found himself quickly up to his waist in water.

"I let go of the rigging and swam away,'' Mr. Freeman recounted for the Mid-Ocean News. "I was swimming around in the darkness with the gale blowing.

I got hold of a piece of driftwood and hung onto that. And then I saw a life raft canister.'' In the dark night Andy saw the flares on the horizon, so he knew others had survived.

Eight crew members had managed to get into life rafts which had automatically inflated as the ship went down. Bobby Cooper strapped a lifeline on and bravely dove into the dark sea to retrieve a 20-man life raft they had spotted drifting close by, which they lashed to theirs. It contained more food and water but none of their friends. At dawn they lashed their last flare to the top of a paddle, to get it up higher, and fired it off.

The Rescue At about 5 a.m. on Sunday, a yacht ahead of Polish ship Zawisa Czarny reported that a red flare had been spotted in the pre dawn. Captain J. Sauer immediately diverted from the race. Enroute, the ship received a second message at 5.40 that the Corsaro might have gone down.

Dramatic rescue of the survivors The Captain sent out a Mayday, the international distress signal that derives from the French 'm'aidez which in English means help me! The 119-foot Polish square rigger was the first on the scene. Debris floated on the sea -- doors, apples, and other flotsam, indicating a wreck. When they first spotted the drifting lifeboats it was assumed they belonged to the Corsaro .

Captain Sauer ordered sails lowered and the engine started for better control of his vessel. It would be a tricky rescue as the life rafts were rising and falling on the waves. Nets were thrown over the sides. A line over the stern and trailing in the water was fixed so that if a person fell into the sea in the transfer, he had something to grab onto.

The Zawisa Czarny successfully rescued seven survivors and one body from the two lashed together rafts, and Andy Freeman from his solitary raft.

A helicopter from the Asinibourne passed overhead several time before spotting Gillespie clinging to the top of his raft and managed to winch him aboard successfully.

The massive search and rescue effort under way involved ships from the US Coast Guard, US Navy, the Royal Navy, P-3 Orion search planes, and tall ships.

Spotters on board an Orion search plane had seen what was believed to be a mast on Wednesday. June 6. Two other search aircraft and two ships searched the area but no trace of the mast was seen again. No further survivors were found.

The rescue operation ended at 9.07 p.m. on June 6 at dusk.

When the Zawisa Czarny left St George's to join the Tall Ships Race in Halifax, her crew standing at attention on deck and in the rigging, all the boats in the harbour sounded their horns in salute, a huge crowd on Ordnance Island cheered her a hero's goodbye, and from St. David's there came the sound of someone playing the last post. Enroute, the crew laid wreaths at the site.

At sail: the Marques under sail at the start of the Tall Ships Race in 1984.

Diving free: Photographer Ann Spurling dives off the Marques at the start of the 1984 Tall Ships Race. Ms Spurling took a series of pictures of the crew and vessel as she heads from Hamilton Harbour to the start line.

Survivor: Marques survivor Chris Cooper, left, is embraced by Captain J.

Sauer, whose Zawisa Czarny rescued eight crew.